In 2025, How Often Did the TTAB Affirm Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness/Disclaimer Refusals?

By my count, in 2025 the Board issued final decisions in 57 appeals from Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness refusals or from disclaimer requirements based on mere descriptiveness. The Board affirmed 53 of the refusals and reversed four. That's an affirmance rate of about 93%. None of the opinions were deemed precedential.

Set out below is a bar chart showing the recent history of Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness appeals. Affirmances continue to hover around 90%. Why so many failures? I suspect some or many of these doomed applications are driven by marketing types looking for an edge.

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The four reversals were for the terms BAKERY and GROOMING (SN 97750068), ATELIER (SN 98044168), NATIVE NATIONS CANNABIS (SN 97419333), and GHOSTWRITTEN (SN 98199104).

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2026.